Occupied Connecticut: State is fifth lowest in housing vacancies

Rob Varnon

Published 10:04 pm, Wednesday, February 20, 2013

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Connecticut vacancy rates by the numbers:Fifth-lowest gross vacancy rate at 10.1%Vacancy for ownership-occupied homes 1.7%Vacancy rate for rentals 7.4%Homeownership rate 68.8%Highest homeownership rate in last 24 years was 2003 at 73%Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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Nobody is home in just 10 percent of Connecticut houses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

On Wednesday, the bureau reported on 2012 national trends in housing and the Nutmeg State had the fifth lowest vacancy rate for both owned and rented homes. Only California, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington had lower vacancy rates.

"That is encouraging news, hopefully that means somebody is moving in," said Peter Gioia, vice president and economist with the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. "It could also mean, the millions of kids who have been living with mom and dad have decided to move out on their own."

There has been a growing concern among some economists that Connecticut's sluggish economy, which is plagued by a high jobless rate and high costs of living, is driving people out of the state. And according to the census, that rate has come down from about 11 percent in 2010 and 2011.

Connecticut's rate is less than half of some the highest in the nation, as the figure tops 20 percent in Alaska, Florida, Maine, Vermont and West Virginia. Some of these states might have been affected by vacation homes.

The drop is good news economically for Connecticut, Gioia said.

"The fewer vacancies, the more potential you have for other activity, like housing starts and price appreciation," the economist said. "A new house that ends up being occupied means thousands of dollars in economic activity."

There are some issues confronting Connecticut and the Northeast region when it comes to vacancies, however. The report found that when homes became vacant in the Northeast, they remained empty longer than in other regions. Some of the contributing factors to this were the price of rentals and the age of homes.

According to the report, 31.3 percent of the vacant homes, those that are either for rent or sale in the Northeast, were built in 1939 or earlier. And of rental homes that were vacant, 40 percent had monthly lease payments of more than $1,000. No other region had a higher concentration of vacancies in this price point for rentals.

"It's not surprising," Gioia said. "We have older stock up here. Old in California or Oregon is 30 years old."

While Connecticut homes were largely occupied, homeownership here has decreased in the last several years, dropping to 68.8 percent in 2012, from a high of 73 percent in 2003. The trend has been down for the last three years, as well, the bureau said.